PARAGUAY.* THE history of Paraguay is one of the most
striking chapters in the modern annals of the world. The political and social experiments made in that portion of the South American continent surpass, in originality of conception and boldness of execution, anything similar known since the middle ages, and must ever remain a most instruc- tive page to the philosophical student of human institutions. Para- guay was first discovered by a Spanish adventurer, Juan Diaz de Solis, who, with a handful of men, landed in the month of the river Uruguay, in October, 1515, and, as is the fashion with discoverers, took possession of the land in the name. of his sovereign. After battling with the natives for some years, sufficient ground was gained to make several settlements, to which soon bands of knight-errants came flocking from Europe, attracted by the fame of subterranean treasures. The. colony having become of sufficient importance to warrant interference; the crown of Spain sent liar own governors, letting the land out to the highest bidder. Sometimes two governors were sent at once, and sometimes three, and all being equally greedy and eager to make the 6evat eat possible fortune in the shortest possible time, the noble hidalgos set to fighting- among themselves, converting the fertile province into a vast arena of carnage and rapine. This state of things lasted for nigh a. century, when, by chance, some Jesuits found their way from Spain to the new colony. Their sharp eye at once discovered the immense field open to their enterprise, and they set. to work accordingly. They took the part of the natives, the Guaranis, a physically weak but highly-intelligent race, and openly proclaimed their intention of protecting them against the law- less- violence of the' conquerors of the country- The success was great beyond expectation. Like sheep in a storm, the Guaranis crowded around their new protectors, laying all their possessions at their feet. The Jesuits did not decline the offers of service,, but forthwith established "Missions." These clerical' colonies were humble villages at first, but gradually came to be immense landed estates, fortified on a gigantic scale. With the arrival of new brethren from. Europe, the activity increased. Finding the old pastures insufficient, Father Montoya, in 1631, emigrated at the head' of twelve thousand Indians and descending the river Parana, founded the Missions of Corpus, San-Ignacio' Mini, and Loreto. His disciples' founded San-Joacinun and other establishments, and the Missions soon rose to a degree of power and opulence such as had never before
.* Ler Republique cle Paraguay. Par Alfred K Da Graty. Brussels, LeipateGlieate C. Iftupardt. London Triibner and Oa.
been witnessed in the New World. Magnificent temples and palaces grew up as if by enchantment among the virgin forests of Paraguay, and the sound of cymbal and organ was heard where before nothing but the wild cry of jackals had fallen upon the ear. The description of these Missions by contemporaneous Spanish authors verges on the fabulous.
Each establishment was governed by two Jesuits. The eldest of the two acted as absolute lord and master of the estate and all its in- habitants, while to the other were confided the duties of high-priest and spiritual. adviser. None of their subjects had any personal pro- perty, but all theproduce of their work flowed in the exchegner of the Mission, administered by themselves. All grown-up men had to work in fields and factories, but only six hours each day; and, to make the labour as pleasant as possible, the men marched to and fro their place of work in. troops, accompanied by military music. The women were solely occupied in. spinning cotton, and the children had. to serve as musicians and choristers in the grand cathedrals,. The two clerical chiefs of each Mission lived in the greatest and most imposing retirement, showing themselves to the people. only on solemn occasions, surrounded with all the pomp and. dignity of kings. Even the dying, to whom the last sacrament had to be administered, were not visited hy the high-priest personally,, but were carried' into an outbuilding dose to the priestly mansion; there to receive the last ministrations of religion. Altogether, the natives were made. to look upon their clerical masters as beings of a superior kind, obe- dience to whom was rewarded by the assignment of a comfortable dwelling, permission to marry among the fate daughters of the land; and a plentiful allowance of all the necessities of life ; while disobe= dience brought instant withdrawal of all these advantages. A prire cipal means of gaining the affection of the people was the annual distribution of rich garments among the best behaved, who were thus distinguished above the rest, and became a sort of officials of the State. It was, however, not only by means of such incentives of encouragement—of great inflnence over a child-like race—that the theocratic rule of the rresuits was carried on: Coercive measures; though seldom employed; were not entirely wanting. Every Mission was surrounded by a high wall and deep ditch„ through. which these were only a few gates, rigorously guarded by the most faithful ser- vants of the Government. Very few only of the inhabitants of the settlement were allowed to. pass this beundary, for the purpose of carrying the surplus produce to. distant markets, and- returning with such articles as required by the. rulers. The whole of the popula- tion, of the Scission was unarmed, with the exception of the life- guards of the two sovereigns; chosen among the oldest and most faithful subjects. The clerical colonies of Paraguay soon grew vezy opulent under this extraordinary mode of government, exhibiting an amount of wealth and luxury unknown even isEurope. Although the Guaranis only worked six hours a day, the quantity of linen and cotton goods, tobacco, vegetables, and herbs which they produced was nearly five times as much as required for their own use; and all the surplus wealth, exchanged at the Spanish ports for the maaufaes tures of Europe, served but to swell the clerical treasury, and. to augment the visible riches of the Church. All the Missions were intimately connected with eack other, though only in the persons of the rulers. The Jesuits frequently moved, from one settlement to another, obedient to the will of the "Superior of Missions," residing at the city of Assumption, who himself was appointed, by the General of the Jesuits gt Rome. Such was the marvellous theocratic govern- ment under which Paraguay reached a. neverInown degree of pro- sperity and increase of population in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
At the beginning of their power the Jesuits professed. their readi- ness to obey the orders of the secular government of Spain; but some of these commands running counter to their own policy, they soon threw off entirely the suzerainty of the Court of Madrid. The latter was restrained from punishing such refractory behaviour by the influence of the Order in Europe, nearly- all the confessors of the Spanish monarchs being Jesuits. A civil governor of Paraguay' was still nominally appointed at Madrid; but hisinftuence was alto- gether absorbed by that of the Superior of Missions. It was only with the decline of Jesuit power in Europe that the Mission govern- ment, too, was bnought to. a. fall. King Charles III., on the 27th of February, /767; decreed the expulsion, of the Jesuits from the whole of his realm; and General Bucareli, the same year, received orders to execute this decree in the Spanish colonies. l'he behest was car- ried out with considerable rigour, not to say cruelty. Many of the magnificent mansions and, cathedrals of Paraguay were devastate& with fire and sword; and the flourishing Jesuit settlements, which peace, culture, and industry had transformed into vast gardens, were changed again into a howling wilderness. The natives clung with touching tenderness to their clerical masters, preferring in many cases to be killed to leaving them. But not being trained to arms, resistance was impossible, and, in the coarse of 'a few months, the whole of the Missions fell before Bucareli's sword. The Spaniards then. at- tempted again to rule the country in the old conqueror fashion ; but with no success whatever. The Indians offered obstinate re- sistance to all attempts of gaining them over, and in less than half a. century most of the cities and villages of Paraguay founded by' the Jesuits had fallen into utter ruin, while the number of inha- bitants had dwindled down to less than, one-third the former amount. Too late, the Court of Spain at last resolved to restore the Missions,.
and, in 1803, sent new Jesuits into Paraguay, with this object in view.. But this only served to accelerate the general ruin. Priestly influence, serving under the direction of a military governor-general, remained powerless, and on the 14th of March, 1811, the province,
following the lead of Buenos Ayres, ifi.rew. Off the Spanish yoke, voting, by the mouth of a number of representatives of the people— skilfully guided by one Dr. Jose Gaspar de Francis—the establishment of a republic of Paraguay. A provisional government, consisting of Francia, Velazco, and Zevallos, first took the reins of state; next, in 1813, a government of two consuls, Francia and Yegros, was nominated ; not long. after, in October, 1814, a single consul, in the person of Dr. Frame, was chosen for five years ; and two years later, May 1, 1816, the same Dr. Francis was chosen by a most obedient congress "perpetual dictator of the republic." Henceforth, Dr. Francia -ruled as absolute autocrat of Paraguay, checked by no other authority whatever. His marvellous rule is sufficiently known through the splendid .sketch of Thomas Carlyle to need further de- scription. Francia's government, in principle, was entirely based on the theocratic system of his Jesuit predecessors, which had been carried out with such entire success. There was this advantage, however, in the dictator's management, that he had centralized his forces and his power, to the manifest profit of himself and his subjects. Instead of fifty enclosures around fifty Missions, he built one huge wall around the whole of Paraguay, allowing ingress but in a very few places. Under him, the vast country became a sort of inouse-trap—nobody being allowed exit, and those who had found their way in being compelled to stay. As far as the material interests of Paraguay were concerned, the mouse-trap system suc- ceeded remarkably. well. It lasted for very nearly a quarter of a century, during which time the population and wealth of the country increased at an extraordinary ratio. Unhappily, the dictator's control was not sufficient to bring about a permanent reform of the evils of anarchy and despotism, left as an heirloom by the Spaniards in all the colonies wherein they set foot. Dr. Fatima closed his eyes on the 20th September, 1840, and in /ass than six months after, the country was again a prey to anarchy.
The history of Paraguay, subsequently to Dr. Francia's death, toaet her with the geographical, ethnographical, commercial, and political conditions of the country, is very minutely described by M. Colonel A. du Graty, whose just published book on the subject contains -undoubtedly the best delineation of the mysterious land which has been given to the world since the days of Reagger and Longchamps. As far as the recent history is concerned, however, there is not much to tell which is of interest to the general European public. With the cessation of the theocratical experiments,, highly interesting from a philosophical point of view, Paraguay has lapsed into the every-day routine of South American chaos, distinguished only by sparse rays of light here and there on the political horizon. The spectacle of ambitious third-rate generals fighting with each other ; of European consuls squabbling with and threatening the governments of the day ; of Yankee adventurers extorting grants and monopolies ; and of dis- contented cities and villages hoisting, once a year, the flag of insur- rection, is one so common to all the republican confederacies in, that quarter of the globe, as to awaken really no interest whatever. Colonel dn Graty thinks that the golden age of Paraguay has arrived with the accession of General Lopez, the present chief of the republic : but he really does not make out his case, although he prints all the decrees of the honourable general at appalling length, in a monstrous appendix of two hundred pages. Add to this the dedication of the work to his Excellency Charles Antoine Lopez, whose "very humble and very obedient servant" Colonel du Graty professes to be, and the purpose of the book is clear. However, notwithstanding this more than doubtful parentage, the statements made are evidently trust- worthy, and go far towards giving the reader a broad and tolerably lucid picture of Paraguay. Iii this respect, the fourth chapter of the hook, containing a description of the native population, the Guaranis a.nrt other tribes, is particularly interesting: The author, while con- tinually praising the actual Government, and condemning, in often severe terms, that of all the predecessors of General Lopez, particu- larly the rule of the Jesuits, yet acknowledges in the facts which he brings forward, that the present masters of the country have a mere superficial knowledge of the great bulk of the population, and. that the disciples of Loyola were the only men who ever thoroughly understood the land and its inhabitants. Their government, it is clear from Colonel du Graty's description, was based on a most com- plete comprehension of the native character and its physical and moral qualities. One significant fact is, that up to the present day the only grammars of the Guarani language, as well as the only dic- tionaries extant, are those datinr, from the time of the Mission governments, and which were compiled at the period with great care by the reverend fathers themselves. Little statements like these throw a flood of light on the philosophy- of government in Paraguay, besides giving room for reflection about much matter relating to Eu.- ropean history. There is little doubt, that of all classes of men who ever attempted the difficult task of ruling others, the almost only order who went systematically to work, and, who created an art of government, were priests. The consequences have come out some- what more obvious in Paraguay than elsewhere ; but they are never- theless visible enough in not a few of the highly civilized states of Europe up to the present day. Another notable fact in the history of Paraguay is that the native men and women speak each a different idiom of the same language, so that the two sexes scarcely understand each other. Now the Jesuits, in their grammars and dictionaries, rather widened this linguistic difference than otherwise; and, speaking themselves with each sex in their own tongue, came to comprehend them better than they did themselves. Is not this, too, highly significant ? Who can help thinking of modern France.
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